Semiconductor Arrangement

ABSTRACT

A first semiconductor zone of a first conduction type is formed from a semiconductor base material doped with first and second dopants. The first and second dopants are different substances and also different from the semiconductor base material. The first dopant is electrically active and causes a doping of the first conduction type in the semiconductor base material, and causes either a decrease or an increase of a lattice constant of the pure, undoped first semiconductor zone. The second dopant may be electrically active, and may be of the same doping type as the first dopant, causes one or both of: a hardening of the first semiconductor zone; an increase of the lattice constant of the pure, undoped first semiconductor zone if the first dopant causes a decrease, and a decrease of the lattice constant of the pure, undoped first semiconductor zone if the first dopant causes an increase, respectively.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the invention relate to semiconductor arrangements andthe production thereof.

BACKGROUND

For the production of semiconductor components, doped semiconductorsubstrates are used as a starting point. Typically, such a conventionalsemiconductor substrate is a wafer. From such a wafer, a number ofsemiconductor chips can be produced. Hence, the yield of semiconductorchips increases with the size of the wafer. Alternatively, only onesemiconductor chip can be produced from the whole wafer, for instance apower thyristor or a power diode. In this case, an increased size of thewafer allows for the production of power semiconductor chips having anincreased ampacity.

As a wafer typically has the shape of a flat, round disk, the size of awafer usually is indicated by its diameter. At present, wafers havingdiameters of up to 300 mm are available on the market, but only with ap-doping. However, for the production of many kinds of semiconductorcomponents like “drain-down” transistors it is advantageous to start onthe basis of an n-doped substrate. In a drain-down” transistor, gate andsource are commonly arranged on a front side of the transistor and drainon a rear side opposite the front side. In view of the above-mentionedadvantages of large area semiconductor substrates there is a need forn-doped large area substrates but also for p-doped large areasubstrates.

SUMMARY

According to one aspect of the invention, a semiconductor arrangementincludes a first semiconductor zone of a first conduction type. Thefirst semiconductor zone is formed from a semiconductor base materialdoped with a first dopant and a second dopant, wherein the first andsecond dopants are different substances and also different from thesemiconductor base material. The first dopant is electrically active andcauses a doping of the first conduction type in the semiconductor basematerial, and causes either a decrease or an increase of a latticeconstant of the pure, undoped first semiconductor zone. The seconddopant also may be electrically active and may be of the same dopingtype (i.e. donor- or acceptor-like) as the first dopant, and causes oneor both of: a hardening of the first semiconductor zone; an increase ofthe lattice constant of the pure, undoped first semiconductor zone ifthe first dopant causes a decrease, and a decrease of the latticeconstant of the pure, undoped first semiconductor zone if the firstdopant causes an increase, respectively.

Due to the appropriately coordinated first and second dopants, the sheetresistance of this layer can be minimized and an excessive wafer bow ofthe arrangement is avoided and the semiconductor arrangement can belithographically processed.

According to another aspect, a method for producing a semiconductorarrangement includes providing a semiconductor carrier of a secondconduction type and epitaxially growing a first semiconductor zone of afirst conduction type complementary to the second conduction type on thesemiconductor carrier. The first semiconductor zone includes asemiconductor base material doped with a first dopant and a seconddopant, wherein the first dopant and second dopants are made ofdifferent substances and also of substances different from semiconductorbase material. The first dopant is electrically active and causes adoping of the first conduction type in the semiconductor base material,and causes either a decrease or an increase of a lattice constant of thepure, undoped first semiconductor zone. The second dopant causes one orboth of: a hardening of the first semiconductor zone; an increase of thelattice constant of the pure, undoped first semiconductor zone if thefirst dopant causes a decrease, and a decrease of the lattice constantof the pure, undoped first semiconductor zone if the first dopant causesan increase, respectively. Preferably but not necessarily, the seconddopant is electrically active, too, and is of the same doping type (i.e.donor- or acceptor-like) like the first dopant.

Those skilled in the art will recognize additional features andadvantages upon reading the following detailed description, and uponviewing the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention can be better understood with reference to the followingdrawings and description. The components in the figures are notnecessarily to scale, instead emphasis being placed upon illustratingthe principles of the invention. Moreover, in the figures, likereference numerals designate corresponding parts. In the drawings:

FIGS. 1A-1C are cross-sectional views of different steps of theproduction of an n-doped semiconductor zone on a carrier.

FIGS. 2A-2D are cross-sectional views of different steps of theproduction of a semiconductor device starting from the arrangement shownof FIG. 1C.

FIGS. 3A-3C are cross-sectional views of different steps of theproduction of a large-area n-doped substrate.

FIG. 4 illustrates a semiconductor arrangement that additionallyincludes, compared to the arrangement of FIG. 2D, a field stop zone.

FIG. 5 illustrates the course of the n-dopant concentration of anenlarged section of the semiconductor arrangement of FIG. 4 according toone embodiment.

FIG. 6 illustrates the course of the n-dopant concentration of anenlarged section of the semiconductor arrangement of FIG. 4 according toanother embodiment.

FIG. 7 illustrates a further embodiment of the course of the n-dopantconcentration of an enlarged section of the semiconductor arrangement ofFIG. 4.

FIG. 8 illustrates the wafer bow of an n-doped semiconductor zone thatis arranged on a p-doped carrier.

FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrates different steps of a method for producing asuperjunction device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following Detailed Description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part thereof, and in which is shownby way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention maybe practiced. In this regard, directional terminology, such as “top”,“bottom”, “front”, “back”, “leading”, “trailing” etc., is used withreference to the orientation of the FIGs. being described. Becausecomponents of embodiments can be positioned in a number of differentorientations, the directional terminology is used for purposes ofillustration and is in no way limiting. It is to be understood thatother embodiments may be utilized and structural or logical changes maybe made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Thefollowing detailed description, therefore, is not to be taken in alimiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined by theappended claims. It is to be understood that the features of the variousexemplary embodiments described herein may be combined with each other,unless specifically noted otherwise.

Referring now to FIG. 1A there is illustrated a carrier 2 which may be,for instance, a flat semiconductor substrate. In a lateral direction r,the carrier 2 has a width D2 and, in a vertical direction v which isperpendicular to the lateral direction r, a thickness d2. The width D2may be, for instance, at least 200 mm, at least 300 mm or at least 450mm. The thickness d2 may, for instance, range from 0.4 mm to 1 mm with0.725 mm or 0.775 mm or 0.925 mm as typical values. Absent from possibledeviations at the lateral edges 25, the thickness d2 may be uniform overthe whole substrate 2. The carrier 2 may be a doped or undopedsemiconductor material, for instance, silicon, germanium, siliconcarbide (e.g. 3C—SiC, 4H—SiC or 6H—SiC), GaAs, InP, GaN, or ternary orquaternary compound semiconductor. For instance, a commerciallyavailable conventional wafer, e.g. having a width and, accordingly, adiameter D2 of about 300 mm, may be used as the carrier 2. Optionally,the carrier 2 may consist of or comprise a semiconductor material whichis doped, for instance p-doped. As dopant, e.g. Boron (B) may be used asBoron doped wafers are commercially available. However, any other dopedor undoped semiconductor material may be used as well. Hence, thecarrier 2 may consist of or comprise a p-doped semiconductor zone.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1B and 1C, a heavily n-doped and—in the idealcase monocrystalline—semiconductor zone 1 may be epitaxially grown on atop side 21 of the carrier 2. The top side 21 is, except of possibledeviations at the lateral edges 25 of the substrate 2, substantiallyplanar so as to allow for the growth of the heavily n-dopedsemiconductor zone 1. In order to achieve a crystalline semiconductorzone with a very low electric resistance having a good quality, that is,with no or only view crystallographic defects, it is advantageous if thecrystalline structure of the heavily n-doped semiconductor zone 1 to beproduced is identical or similar to the crystalline structure of thecarrier 2. To this, both the substrate 2 and the semiconductor zone 1 tobe produced may have—except for the respective doping—the samesemiconductor basis material. As can be seen from FIG. 1C, the completedsemiconductor zone 1 has, in the vertical direction v, a thickness d1which may be, for instance, in the range from 50 μm to 200 μm, or in therange from 60 μm to 180 μm. Perpendicular to the vertical direction v,the completed semiconductor zone 1 has a width D1 which may be, forinstance, at least 200 mm, at least 250 mm, or at least 300 mm or atleast 450 mm. D1 may substantially be identical with D2.

The epitaxial growth of the heavily n-doped semiconductor zone 1 maytake place in a processing chamber 6, e.g. a fused silica processingchamber, using a vapor deposition method, e.g., a CVD method(CVD=chemical vapor deposition), in which method the carrier 2 is placedin the processing chamber 6 and exposed to one or more volatileprecursors/dopants 40, 41, 42, 43 at a total gas pressure p6. Inaddition, molecular hydrogen 45 (H2) may also be part of the gas in theprocessing chamber. In FIG. 1B, the processing chamber 6 is indicatedonly schematically. A precursor reacts and/or decomposes inter alia atthe top side 21 of the carrier 2, thereby forming the heavily n-dopedsemiconductor zone 1. At least one semiconductor material precursor 40serves to provide the constituents of the (undoped) semiconductormaterial itself. For instance, if the heavily n-doped semiconductor zone1 to be produced is a silicon semiconductor zone, the first precursor 41may be, e.g., silane (SiH4), dichlorosilane (SiH2Cl2), trichlorosilane(SiHCl3) or silicon tetrachloride (SiCl4).

The n-doping of the heavily n-doped semiconductor zone 1 to be producedmay be achieved by using two dopants, for instance arsenic (As) as afirst dopant and phosphorus (P) as a second dopant. To provide thearsenic (As), arsine (AsH3) may be used as a first dopant precursor 41in the CVD process. Then, to provide the phosphorus (P), phosphine (PH3)may be used as a second dopant precursor 42.

Generally, if a low specific resistance of the semiconductor zone 1 isdesired, for instance in order to achieve a semiconductor componenthaving a low on-resistance R_(ON), phosphorus (P) is preferred overarsenic (As) or antimony (Sb) as, in a silicon-based, heavily n-dopedsemiconductor zone 1, a desirably low specific resistance of about 1mΩ·cm can be achieved, compared with about 2 mΩ·cm in the case ofarsenic (As). However, a large amount of phosphorus (P) would result ina change of the effective lattice constant in zone 1 and therefore in anincreased stress of the mechanical system comprised of carrier 2 andsemiconductor zone 1. The stress will lead inevitably to either abending of the unit formed of the carrier 2 and the semiconductor zone 1such that the completed semiconductor zone 1 has a bow or, at evenhigher stress levels, to a mechanical relaxation. The relaxation mayreduce the bow to a certain extent, however this will lead in any caseto slip of certain crystallographic lattice planes which are accompaniedwith lattice dislocations possibly leading to electrical failures ofdevices built within the affected crystal volume.

Such changes of the lattice constant of the semiconductor crystal dependon dopants comprised therein. For example, if the concentration ofphosphorus exceeds 5·10¹⁹ cm⁻³, in typical Czochralski grown silicon therelative lattice mismatch exceeds 5·10⁻⁵ which may lead already to slipoccurrence for epitaxial thicknesses greater 10 μm for the semiconductorzone 1. The center wafer bow would be of the order of 20 μm or 45 μm forsubstrate diameters of 200 mm or 300 mm, respectively. This bow canstill be handled by typical lithography tools. If the center bow of thesemiconductor zone 1 exceeds about 70 μm, the lithographic processessubsequent to the production of the heavily n-doped semiconductor zone 1are essentially uncontrollable. This limit corresponds to a doping ofthe semiconductor zone 1 with phosphorus leading to 0.8 mOhm·cm and 20μm thickness at 200 mm substrate diameter. In case of higher values ofsubstrate diameters the situation gets even worse, e.g. already at 1.5mOhm·cm for a substrate diameter of 300 mm.

Hence, one optional measure for achieving an optimum low specificresistance is to use arsenic (As) as a first dopant and to keep theamount of phosphorus (P) as high as possible subject to the restrictionthat the subsequent processability is guaranteed. Both arsenic (As) andphosphorus (P) are n-dopants in silicon or in silicon carbide andtherefore serve to provide for a heavily n-doped semiconductor zone 1.However, arsenic (As) counteracts the lattice constant amending effectof phosphorus (P). Generally, the same principle will apply to reducethe bow forming effect of any other n-dopant by additionally doping thesemiconductor zone 1 with a co-dopant that counteracts the latticeconstant amending effect of the other dopant. The co-dopant may alsopreferably be an n-dopant, or, alternatively, an “electrically inactive”dopant which in the sense of the present invention designates a dopantthat acts neither n-doping nor p-doping in the semiconductor material ofthe semiconductor zone 1 to be produced. For pure n-doping purposes,phosphorus (P) doping can be combined with arsenic (As) or antimony (Sb)or a combination of both to shift the net lattice distance closer to thesubstrate 2 lattice distance. If dopants that act as n-dopants insilicon (Si) like arsenic (As), antimony (Sb) or a combination of both,the lattice constant enlarging effect caused by these n-dopants can alsobe compensated by additionally doping the silicon (Si) with one or moreelectrically inactive elements like C (carbon) that have a smalleratomic radius compared to silicon (Si). Another possibility is to usephosphorus (P) as n-dopant in silicon (Si) and to compensate the latticeconstant reducing effect caused by phosphorus (P) by additionally dopingthe silicon (Si) with one or more electrically inactive dopants likegermanium (Ge) or tin (Sn), both having a greater atomic radius comparedto silicon (Si), or a combination of both. In case for a pure p-typedoping of the semiconductor zone 1 with doping element boron (B) theanalogue possibilities are a combination of one or more of the activethe elements aluminium (Al) or gallium (Ga) or indium (In) (all threewith greater atomic radii compared to silicon (Si)) or a combination ofthese elements. Also Ge or Sn or a combination of both can be used aselectrically inactive doping elements to compensate for the smalleratomic size of B dopant compared to Si.

The following table gives an overview over the doping effect of certainelectrically active and inactive dopants in a silicon base material:

doping effect in silicon covalent atomic n- electrically dopant radius(10⁻¹² m) doping p-doping inactive C carbon 77 x B boron 82 x Pphosphorus 106 x Si silicon 111 x Al aluminum 118 x As arsenic 119 x Gegermanium 122 x Ga gallium 126 x Sb antimoni 138 x Sn tin 141 x Inindium 144 x

The entries in the table are sorted with ascending covalent atomicradius. The dopants with a covalent atomic radius smaller than thecovalent atomic radius of silicon (Si), that is, C, B and P, cause areduction of the lattice constant of a silicon semiconductor crystal.Accordingly, the dopants with a covalent atomic radius greater than thecovalent atomic radius of silicon (Si), that is, Al, As, Ge, Ga, Sb, Snand In, cause an increase of the lattice constant of a silicon-basedsemiconductor crystal.

Hence, if an n-doped silicon-based semiconductor zone 1 is to beproduced, phosphorus (P) may be used. In order to compensate the latticeconstant reducing effect of phosphorus (P), the semiconductor zone 1 canbe additionally doped with one or an arbitrary combination of Al, As,Ge, Ga, Sb, Sn and In. As arsenic (As) and antimony (Sb) are alson-dopants, a combination of phosphorus (P) and one or both of arsenic(As) and antimony (Sb) leads to an effectively n-doped semiconductorzone 1. Also possible to compensate the lattice constant reducing effectof phosphorus (P) is to additionally dope the semiconductor zone 1 withone or both of the electrically inactive dopants germanium (Ge) and tin(Sn). However, the p-dopants aluminum (Al), gallium (Ga) and indium (In)would counteract the desired n-doping and therefore are second-bestoptions only. Of course, a compensation of the lattice constant reducingeffect of phosphorus (P) can also be achieved by additionally doping thefirst semiconductor zone 1 as well with one or both of the electricallyactive n-dopants arsenic (As) and antimony (Sb) as with one or both ofthe electrically inactive dopants germanium (Ge) and tin (Sn).

The same principle may apply if an n-doped silicon-based semiconductorzone 1 is to be produced with one or both of arsenic (As) and antimony(Sb) as active n-dopants. In order to compensate the lattice constantincreasing effect of arsenic (As) and/or antimony (Sb), thesemiconductor zone 1 can be additionally doped with one or an arbitrarycombination of carbon (C), boron (B) and phosphorus (P). As phosphorus(P) is also a n-dopant, a combination of one or both of arsenic (As) andantimony (Sb) and phosphorus (P) leads to an effectively n-dopedsemiconductor zone 1 (of course with the same result as above whenstarting with phosphorus (P) as n-dopant). Also possible to compensatethe lattice constant increasing effect of one or both of arsenic (As)and antimony (Sb) is to additionally dope the semiconductor zone 1 withthe electrically inactive dopant carbon (C). However, the p-dopant boron(B) would counteract the desired n-doping and therefore is a second-bestoption only. Of course, a compensation of the lattice constantincreasing effect of one or both n-dopants arsenic (As) and antimony(Sb), can also be achieved by additionally doping the firstsemiconductor zone 1 as well with the electrically active n-dopantphosphorus (P) as with the electrically inactive dopant carbon (C).

Hence, a n-doped semiconductor zone 1 of a silicon based semiconductorbody may comprise in particular the following combinations of dopants:

P with As.

P with As and Sb.

As with Sb.

P with As and with one or an arbitrary combination of C, Ge, Sn.

P with As, Sb and with one or an arbitrary combination of C, Ge, Sn.

As with Sb and with one or an arbitrary combination of C, Ge, Sn.

P with one or an arbitrary combination of C, Ge, Sn.

As with one or an arbitrary combination of C, Ge, Sn.

Sb with one or an arbitrary combination of C, Ge, Sn.

Thereby, one or an arbitrary combination of C, Ge and Sn is: C. Ge. Sn.C with Ge. C with Sn. Ge with Sn.

Further, if a p-doped silicon-based semiconductor zone 1 is to beproduced, boron (B) may be used. In order to compensate the latticeconstant reducing effect of boron (B), the semiconductor zone 1 can beadditionally doped with one or an arbitrary combination of Al, As, Ge,Ga, Sb, Sn and In. As aluminum (Al), gallium (Ga) and indium (In) arealso p-dopants, a combination of boron (B) and one or an arbitrarycombination of aluminum (Al), gallium (Ga) and indium (In) leads to aneffectively p-doped semiconductor zone 1. Also possible to compensatethe lattice constant reducing effect of boron (B) is to additionallydope the semiconductor zone 1 with one or both of the electricallyinactive dopants germanium (Ge) and tin (Sn). However, the n-dopantsarsenic (As) and antimony (Sb) would counteract the desired p-doping andtherefore are second-best options only. Of course, a compensation of thelattice constant reducing effect of boron (B) can also be achieved byadditionally doping the first semiconductor zone 1 as well with one oran arbitrary combination of the electrically active p-dopants aluminum(Al), gallium (Ga) and indium (In) as with one or both of theelectrically inactive dopants germanium (Ge) and tin (Sn).

A p-doped silicon-based semiconductor zone 1 may also be produced withone or an arbitrary combination of aluminum (Al), gallium (Ga) andindium (In) as active p-dopants. In order to compensate the latticeconstant increasing effect thereof, the semiconductor zone 1 can beadditionally doped with boron (B). As boron (B) is also a p-dopant, acombination of one or an arbitrary combination of aluminum (Al), gallium(Ga) and indium (In) with boron (B) leads to an effectively p-dopedsemiconductor zone 1 (of course with the same result as above whenstarting with boron (B) as p-dopant). Also possible to compensate thelattice constant increasing effect of one or an arbitrary combination ofaluminum (Al), gallium (Ga) and indium (In) is to additionally dope thesemiconductor zone 1 with the electrically inactive dopant carbon (C).However, the n-dopant phosphorus (P) would counteract the desiredp-doping and therefore is second-best option only. Of course, acompensation of the lattice constant increasing effect of one or anarbitrary combination of aluminum (Al), gallium (Ga) and indium (In) canalso be achieved by additionally doping the first semiconductor zone 1as well with the electrically active p-dopant boron (B) as with theelectrically inactive dopant carbon (C).

Hence, a p-doped semiconductor zone 1 of a silicon based semiconductorbody may comprise in particular the following combinations of dopants:

B with one or an arbitrary combination of Al, Ga, In.

B with one or both of Ge, Sn.

B with one or an arbitrary combination of Al, Ga, In, and with one orboth of Ge, Sn.

An arbitrary combination of Al, Ga, In with C.

Thereby, one or an arbitrary combination of Al, Ga, In: Al. Ga. In. Alwith Ga. Al with In. Ga with In.

An optional measure for improving the wafer bow problem is to dope thesemiconductor zone 1 to be produced with a hardening dopant thatincreases the hardness of the heavily n-doped semiconductor zone 1. Tothis, the hardening dopant or a precursor 43 of the hardening dopant maybe used in the vapor deposition process. Due to the hardening, thebendability and, coming along therewith, the center bow—compared withthe center bow of an unhardened but otherwise identical—semiconductorzone 1 are reduced.

Alternatively or in addition to introducing the hardening dopants 43into the n-doped semiconductor zone 1 in the vapor deposition process,in which the n-doped semiconductor zone 1 is grown, the hardeningdopants 43 may also be introduced by a diffusion process. According toone example, the hardening dopants 43 may be comprised in the carrier 2and subsequently be diffused into an epitaxial layer 3 via its bottomside 32 during and/or after the epitaxial layer 3 is grown.Alternatively or in addition, the hardening dopants 43 may be introducedinto the completed epitaxial layer 3 via its top side 31.

Suitable hardening dopants 43 are, for instance, nitrogen (N) or oxygen(O). One or, in any combination, more different types of hardeningdopants may be used as (electrically inactive) hardening dopants of thesemiconductor zone 1. The hardening dopants 43 may be used as dopantsfor hardening any n-doped or p-doped semiconductor zone 1. To this, anysemiconductor zone 1 may be doped in addition to the above-mentionedelectrically active and/or electrically inactive dopants with one or anarbitrary combination of hardening dopants 43 like nitrogen (N) andoxygen (O).

To provide nitrogen (N) doping of the semiconductor layer, anitrogen-containing precursor 43 e.g. molecular nitrogen (N2) and/orammonia (NH3) may be used in the CVD process. Alternatively or inaddition, other nitrogen containing molecules may also be used. Forinstance, for molecular nitrogen (N2) in trichlorosilane (SiHCl3) at agas temperature of about 1180° C., at an atmospheric gas pressure p6 andat a partial pressure of molecular nitrogen (N2) of 1.5 hPa, for theformation of the n-doped semiconductor zone 1, a deposition rate of 3μm/minute could be achieved.

Then, to provide the oxygen (O) doping, an oxygen-containing precursor43, nitrous oxide (N2O) or nitrogen dioxide (NO2) may be used. With bothnitrous oxide (N2O) or nitrogen dioxide (NO2), the semiconductor zone 1is, in addition to oxygen, also doped with nitrogen (N).

In case the hardening dopants 43 comprise nitrogen (N), the averageconcentration of nitrogen (N) may range from e.g. 2·10¹⁴ to 5·10¹⁵nitrogen atoms/cm³, or from 5·10¹⁴ to 2·10¹⁵ nitrogen atoms/cm³.

In addition to the hardening effect, electrically inactive dopants 43,e.g. nitrogen (N), may be used to indirectly adjust the electricalbehaviour of the semiconductor component as they affect the chargecarrier lifetime. This effect may be used, for instance, in structuresfor ESD (electrostatic discharge) protection to reduce the variation ofthe break down voltages.

Alternatively or in addition to the measures mentioned above, germanium(Ge) may be introduced into the semiconductor zone 1 during itsproduction, for instance in the mentioned vapor deposition process, orafter the semiconductor zone 1 is completed, in order to avoid crystaldefects by appropriately adjusting the crystallographic lattice constantof the semiconductor zone 1.

During the vapor deposition process, the dopants/precursors 40, 41, 42,43 may be individually fed into the processing chamber 6 via gas supplylines 9. Using controllable valves 91 inserted in the gas supply lines 9allow for controlling the composition of the gas mixture in theprocessing chamber time-dependent, and, accordingly, for the run of theconcentration the respective dopant has in the completed heavily n-dopedsemiconductor zone 1 in the vertical direction v.

In the vertical direction of the completed heavily n-doped semiconductorzone 1, each of the individual dopants may have a certain concentrationgradient which may be adjusted during the vapor deposition process byamending the concentration of the respective dopant or precursor in thegas. In the example of phosphorus (P) as a dopant, starting from thebottom side 12 of the heavily n-doped semiconductor zone 1 away from thecarrier 2 in the vertical direction v, the concentration of phosphorus(P) in the completed heavily n-doped semiconductor zone 1 may graduallydecrease towards the top side 11 of the heavily n-doped semiconductorzone 1 or alternatively firstly may gradually increase and then decreasetowards the top side 11 of the heavily n-doped semiconductor zone 1.Alternatively, the dopant concentration of the heavily n-dopedsemiconductor zone 1 may be nearly constant between starting from thebottom side 12 of heavily n-doped semiconductor zone 1 the as far asabout 40% to 80% of the thickness of the heavily n-doped semiconductorzone 1 and may then gradually decrease towards the top side 11 of theheavily n-doped semiconductor zone 1 for the remaining thickness of zone1. The decrease may be e.g. from 100% at the bottom side 12 of heavilyn-doped semiconductor zone 1 to about 50%, 30% or 10% at the top side 11of the heavily n-doped semiconductor zone 1. Such a doping gradient canbe very helpful for a further reduction of stress and for a defect-freegrowth of further semiconductor layers on the heavily n-doped layer 11.

After the heavily n-doped semiconductor zone 1 is completed asillustrated in FIG. 1C, the arrangement comprising the carrier 2 and theheavily n-doped semiconductor zone 1 thereon may be used to produce oneor more semiconductor components in which the heavily n-dopedsemiconductor zone 1 entirely or at least partly forms a residual partof the completed semiconductor component(s). An example for such furtherprocessing will now be explained with reference to FIGS. 2A to 2D.

As illustrated in FIG. 2A, a further epitaxial layer 3 is grown on thetop side 11 of the heavily n-doped semiconductor zone 1, that is, onthat side of the heavily n-doped semiconductor zone 1 facing away fromthe carrier 2. If in the embodiment of FIG. 2A the epitaxial layer 3 iscompleted, it is low or medium n-doped and may have, optionally, a loweraverage concentration of n-dopants than the heavily n-dopedsemiconductor zone 1. However, in other embodiments, in particular ifthe semiconductor zone 1 is p-doped, the epitaxial layer 3 mayalternatively be p-doped. Even though there is no processing chamberillustrated in FIG. 2A, growing the epitaxial layer 3 may take place inthe same processing chamber 6 already described with reference to FIG.1B, or in a different processing chamber.

The parameters for growing the epitaxial layer 3, that is, inter alia,the mixture of gas from which the epitaxial layer 3 is grown, need to beadjusted in such a manner that the lattice mismatch between the crystallattice of the carrier 2 and the crystal lattice of the epitaxial layer3 is low in order to avoid crystallographic defects like line defects.Optionally, the epitaxial layer 3 may at least partially also have adoping gradient with e.g. a doping level decreasing from interface 11.

As will be explained later with reference to FIGS. 9A and 9B, optionalcolumns may be formed in the further epitaxial layer 3, to realize acompensation structure. The type of conductivity of the columns iscontrary to the type of conductivity of the further epitaxial layer 3.

After the epitaxial layer 3 is completed, the arrangement may be furtherprocessed depending on the requirements of the semiconductorcomponent(s) to be produced. To this, a number of different steps likeforming and structuring masks, implanting and/or diffusing n- and/orp-dopants into the epitaxial layer 3, forming and structuring dielectriclayers, metallizations etc. may be executed. In order to exemplify suchadditional steps, in FIG. 2B a mask 7 is formed and structured on thetop side 31 of the completed epitaxial layer 3, that is, on that sidefacing away from the heavily n-doped semiconductor zone 1. The mask 7serves to produce p-doped body zones 4 of a number of n-channel draindown power transistors by, for instance, implanting p-dopants throughopenings of the mask 7 into the epitaxial layer 3. In FIG. 2B, thep-dopants are indicated by arrows.

Each of the transistors includes a number of transistor cells each cellhaving at least one p-doped body zone 4. In this regard it is to benoted that for the sake of presentability only view p-doped zones 4 areshown in FIG. 2B. In contrast, a real transistor may have asignificantly larger number of such transistor cells formed in a commonsemiconductor body and electrically connected in parallel so as to forma unitary transistor in which all of the transistor cells connected inparallel have a common source contact, a common drain contact and acommon gate contact and can be controlled via the common gate contact inthe same manner.

Analogously, in one or more further masked doping steps, n- and/orp-doping dopants may be introduced into the epitaxial layer 3. This isillustrated by way of example with reference to FIG. 2C where a furthermask 8 is formed and structured on the top side 31 of the epitaxiallayer 3. The mask 8 serves to produce heavily n-doped source zones 5inside the p-doped body zones 4 by, for instance, implanting n-dopantsthrough openings of the mask 8 into the epitaxial layer 3. In FIG. 2C,the n-dopants are indicated by arrows.

After the completion of the epitaxy process for producing the epitaxiallayer 3 and, optionally, after one or more subsequent process steps, thecarrier 2 may be removed such that a bottom side 12 of the heavilyn-doped semiconductor zone 1 forms a bottom side of the arrangement. Forthe removal of the carrier 2, etching, lapping or polishing may be used,either alone or in arbitrary combinations. In order to not adverselyaffect other parts of the arrangement, such parts may be protected by aprotective coating 10 as exemplary illustrated in FIG. 2D. The coating10 may not only cover the top side or parts of the top side of theproduced semiconductor body 100 but also its side walls or parts of itsside walls. In order to assure a complete removal of the carrier 2, alsoa bottom part of the heavily n-doped semiconductor zone 1 may beremoved. FIG. 2C shows the arrangement with the protective coating 10applied. In FIG. 2D, the carrier 2 is completely removed. The completeddevice comprises a weakly n-doped drift zone 34 which is formed from theepitaxial layer 3.

In case of a p-doped carrier 2, a pn-junction 5 is formed between theheavily n-doped semiconductor zone 1 and the p-doped carrier 2. Hence,the p-doped carrier may be removed by electrochemical wet etching (ECE),that is, a selective etching method in which selectively only thep-doped carrier 2 is removed. This allows a relatively exact thicknessadjustment.

As it is evident from FIG. 2D, the heavily n-doped semiconductor zone 1may be a drain zone of an arbitrary drain down transistor.

Instead of forming one or more semiconductor components or pre-stages ofone or more semiconductor components from the arrangement shown in FIG.1C, the carrier 2 shown in FIG. 1C may be removed in order to provide asemiconductor substrate that only consists of the first semiconductorzone 1. To this, the carrier 2 may be removed by the techniques alreadydescribed with reference to FIGS. 2C and 2D. FIG. 3A shows thearrangement of FIG. 1C provided with a protective coating 10 which hasthe same function as described with reference to the protective coating10 of FIG. 2D. In FIG. 3B, the carrier 2 shown in FIG. 3A is removed byetching, lapping or polishing or a combination thereof. Then, theprotective layer 10 is removed in order to provide a heavily n-dopedsemiconductor substrate 1 as illustrated in FIG. 3C. The substrate 1 mayhave a large width and/or diameter D1 of, for instance, at least 200 mm,at least 250 mm or at least 300 mm. However, the described method mayalso be used for the production of n-doped substrates having awidth/diameter of less than 200 mm.

Generally, an-doped substrate 1 that only consists of a n-dopedsemiconductor zone 1 may be used for the production of arbitrarysemiconductor components as, for instance, described with reference toFIGS. 2A to 2C with the sole difference that the carrier 2 is alreadyremoved.

Optionally, the bottom side 12 of the heavily n-doped semiconductor zone1 may be provided with a metal layer, for instance a drain metallizationof the semiconductor component to be produced. To this, a very lowspecific resistance of the heavily n-doped semiconductor zone 1 inparticular at its bottom side 12 is desirable. A low specific resistancecan be achieved with a high dopant concentration of the heavily n-dopedsemiconductor zone 1. In order to avoid the necessity of additionalsteps for increasing the dopant concentration it is desirable that therequired final dopant concentration is adjusted during the epitaxialgrowth of the heavily n-doped semiconductor zone 1 illustrated in FIG.1B.

On the other hand, a high n-dopant concentration of the semiconductorzone 1 causes a diffusion of the n-dopants into a further epitaxiallayer 3 that is grown on such a heavily n-doped semiconductor zone 1. Asphosphorus (P) has a diffusion coefficient higher than arsenic (As) andantimony (Sb), phosphorus (P) would diffuse comparatively far into thefurther epitaxial layer 3, thereby creating a “diffusion tail” in thefurther epitaxial layer 3. Such a diffusion tail however reduces theon-resistance R_(ON) and the breakdown voltage of the component to beproduced. Hence, if a predetermined n-dopant concentration of theheavily n-doped semiconductor zone 1 is to be achieved, the heavilyn-doped semiconductor zone 1 may be doped partly with an n-dopant thathas a diffusion coefficient which is lower than the diffusioncoefficient of phosphorus (P).

However, it may be desired for some drain down components to have ann-doped field stop zone that is produced in the epitaxial layer 3 andthat extends, in the vertical direction v, from the bottom side 32 ofthe epitaxial layer 3 into the epitaxial layer 3. FIG. 4 shows such anarrangement which differs from the arrangement of FIG. 2D only in theadditional n-doped field stop zone 33. In order to provide such ann-doped field stop zone 33, the formation of a diffusion tail ofphosphorus (P) into the epitaxial layer 3 may be used in combinationwith a high temperature process subsequent to the production of theepitaxial layer 3. To this, the concentration of phosphorus (P) and thegradient the concentration of phosphorus (P) has in the verticaldirection v may be adjusted such that in the subsequent high temperatureprocess, the field stop zone 33 with the desired field stop dopingprofile is formed from the diffusion tails of phosphorus (P) and of theother n-dopants included in the heavily n-doped semiconductor zone 1.

For an enlarged section 101 of the semiconductor body 100 of the device,FIG. 5 illustrates the course of the n-dopant concentration, that is,the concentration of all atoms that have an n-doping effect in thesemiconductor base material of the semiconductor body 100. In thatembodiment, the concentrations of the electrically active dopants P(broken line) and As (dotted line) sum up to the n-dopant concentration(continuous line). At the bottom side 12 of the heavily n-dopedsemiconductor zone 1, the n-dopant concentration (continuous line)starts with a concentration c3 and monotonically decreases in thevertical direction v within the semiconductor zone 1 to a concentrationc2 at the boundary to the n-doped field stop zone 33. Within thethickness d33 of the n-doped field stop zone 33, the n-dopantconcentration further decreases in the vertical direction v to aconcentration c1 at the boundary to the weakly n-doped drift zone 34.Thereby, starting from the bottom side 12, the phosphorus (P)concentration gradually increases in the vertical direction v in orderto avoid crystal dislocations in a state in which the p-doped carrier 2has not yet been removed from the semiconductor zone 1.

According to a further embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6, starting fromthe bottom side 12 in the vertical direction v, the phosphorus (P)concentration is reduced towards the top side 11 so that the diffusiontail of the phosphorus (P) concentration lies within the diffusion tailof the arsenic (As) concentration.

Choosing the doping levels of phosphorus (P) and arsenic (As) so thatthey are very similar, a two-step field stop profile can be realizedwhich can be very helpful e.g. for the avalanche robustness andruggedness against cosmic radiation.

The thickness d33 of the field stop zone may range, for instance, from 3μm to 20 μm, or from 5 μm to 10 μm. However, thicknesses below 3 μm orabove 20 μm may also be used if desired. The concentration c2 at theboundary between the field stop zone 33 and the n-doped semiconductorzone 1 may range, for instance, from some 10¹⁸ cm⁻³ to 10¹⁹ cm⁻³.Regardless of the above mentioned values for the thickness d33 and theconcentration c2, the concentration c1 may range from 0.1·c2 to 0.5·c2.The values and relationships for the concentrations c1, c2, c3 and thethickness d33 mentioned above may apply to any n-dopant(s) that have ann-doping effect in the semiconductor base material of the semiconductorbody 100.

In the example of FIG. 5 which relates to silicon as the base materialof the semiconductor body 100, the n-dopant concentration (continuousline) is the sum of the concentrations of phosphorus (P; broken line)and arsenic (As; dotted line). Within the first semiconductor zone 1,the concentration of arsenic (As) monotonically decreases in thevertical direction v. Within the adjacent field stop zone 33, theconcentration of arsenic (As) further decreases monotonically in thevertical direction v and rapidly drops, with a short diffusion tail, tozero within the transition region between the field stop zone 33 and theadjacent drift zone 34. As soon as the concentration of arsenic (As) iszero, the n-dopant concentration (continuous line) is a result of thephosphorus (P) concentration only.

With the method and variations mentioned above it is possible to producea heavily n-doped semiconductor zone 1 having a specific resistance ofless than or equal to 1.5 mΩ·cm. In case of arsenic (As) as an n-dopant,a specific resistance in that range has been achieved by using a 10%dilution of precursor AsH3 diluted in molecular hydrogen (H2), that is,the volumetric ratio of AsH3 molecules to hydrogen molecules is 1:10,during the vapor deposition process for producing the heavily n-dopedsemiconductor zone 1.

Summarized, an n-doped semiconductor zone 1 may be produced on a carrier2 as described above. Subsequently, the carrier 2 may be removed at anyarbitrary stage of further treatment. Hence, the heavily n-dopedsemiconductor zone 1 may solely be a semiconductor substrate thatconsists of the heavily n-doped semiconductor zone 1, or a part of asemiconductor arrangement or a semiconductor component having additionalelements like p-doped semiconductor zones etc. as, for instance, thementioned source down transistors (MOSFETs, IGBTs, CoolMos devices orother compensation-based devices etc.). In principle however, anyarbitrary semiconductor component requiring a heavily n-dopedsemiconductor zone may be built on the basis of a heavily n-dopedsemiconductor zone 1 that has been produced with a method as describedabove.

The doping level in semiconductor zone 1 depends on the electricalfunction of this layer. For example, in an application for low voltagedevices a typical lower limit of the n-type doping is around 5·10¹⁹cm⁻³. In case the semiconductor zone 1 will at least partly contributeto the R_(ON)-resistance of a device to be produced, the doping levelshould be as high as possible which will also improve the ohmictransition from semiconductor to backside metallization.

According to a further embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7, the dopantconcentration of the heavily n-doped semiconductor zone 1 may be nearlyconstant between starting from the bottom side 12 of the heavily n-dopedsemiconductor zone 1 and as far as about d1′=40% to 80% of the thicknessd1 of the heavily n-doped semiconductor zone 1 and may then graduallydecrease towards the top side 11 of the heavily n-doped semiconductorzone 1 for the remaining thickness of the semiconductor zone 1. In FIG.7, the value of the n-dopant concentration at the top side 11 isdesignated with c2. For instance, c2 may be less than or equal to 0.5·c3(50%), less than or equal to 0.3·c3 (30%), or less than or equal to0.1·c3 (10%). The decrease may be e.g. from c2=100% at the bottom side12 of heavily n-doped semiconductor zone 1 to c2 at the top side 11 ofthe heavily n-doped semiconductor zone 1.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, the present invention allows for the wafer bowb in particular of a n-doped semiconductor zone 1 that has a largediameter D1 and that is arranged on a p-doped carrier 2 to be kept atacceptable low values. For instance, the wafer bow b may be less than orequal to 50 μm, less than or equal to 30 μm, or less than or equal to 20μm. The kind of electrically active and/or inactive dopants of the firstsemiconductor zone 1 and the p-doped carrier 2 are chosen toappropriately interact with the semiconductor base material such thatthe required low wafer bow b is achieved. The above mentioned upperlimits of the wafer bow b may apply to any wafer that has a largediameter D1, that is, at least 200 mm, at least 250 mm, at least 300 mmor at least 450 mm and that comprises an n-doped semiconductor zone 1that is arranged on a p-doped carrier 2. In the sense of the presentinvention, the wafer bow b is the maximum deviation of the semiconductorzone's 1 top side 11 from a plane E that is virtually placed on the topside 11. Thereby, the top side 11 is that side 11 of the n-dopedsemiconductor zone 1 that faces away from p-doped carrier 2.

FIGS. 9A and 9B, which correspond to FIGS. 2B and 2C, respectively,illustrate a method for producing a semiconductor componentsuperjunction device. The method is substantially identical to themethod illustrated above with reference to FIGS. 2A to 2D. The soledifference is that in order to realize a compensation structure requiredfor the superjunction device, additional columns 4″ (FIG. 9B) areproduced in the epitaxial layer that comprises the drift zone 3 so thatthe columns 4″ are embedded in the drift zone 3. Each of the columns 4″has a conduction type opposite to the conduction type of the drift zone3 and contacts at least one of the body zones 4.

For the production of the columns 4″, a number of areas 4′ (FIG. 9A)having a conduction type opposite to the conduction type of the driftzone 3 may be produced in the drift zone 3 so as to form stacks in whichthe areas 4′ are arranged—in a vertical direction v—one upon the otherbut spaced distant from one another. To this, the areas 4′ embedded inthe drift zone 3 may be produced by growing an epitaxial layer 3 asexplained with reference to FIG. 2A but by interrupting the epitaxyseveral times in order to implant dopants into the (uncompleted)epitaxial layer 3 in the same way as explained above with reference toFIG. 2B. That is, the layers of the area 4′ may be produced in the samemanner as the body zones 4. After a subsequent annealing step, the areas4′ of the stack grow together so as to form a column 4″ as shown in FIG.9B.

Spatially relative terms such as “under”, “below”, “lower”, “over”,“upper” and the like, are used for ease of description to explain thepositioning of one element relative to a second element. These terms areintended to encompass different orientations of the device in additionto different orientations than those depicted in the figures. Further,terms such as “first”, “second”, and the like, are also used to describevarious elements, regions, sections, etc. and are also not intended tobe limiting. Like terms refer to like elements throughout thedescription.

As used herein, the terms “having”, “containing”, “including”,“comprising” and the like are open ended terms that indicate thepresence of stated elements or features, but do not preclude additionalelements or features. The articles “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural as well as the singular, unless the context clearlyindicates otherwise.

With the above range of variations and applications in mind, it shouldbe understood that the present invention is not limited by the foregoingdescription, nor is it limited by the accompanying drawings. Instead,the present invention is limited only by the following claims and theirlegal equivalents. In particular, the features/method steps of differentembodiments may be combined in an arbitrary manner unless thecombination of certain features/method steps is technically impossible.

What is claimed is:
 1. A semiconductor arrangement comprising a firstsemiconductor zone of a first conduction type, wherein the firstsemiconductor zone comprises a semiconductor base material doped with afirst dopant and a second dopant, wherein: the first and second dopantsare made of different substances; the first and second dopants are madeof substances which are both different from the semiconductor basematerial; the first dopant is electrically active and causes a doping ofthe first conduction type in the semiconductor base material; the firstdopant causes a decrease or an increase of a lattice constant of thepure, undoped first semiconductor zone; the second dopant causes one orboth of: a hardening of the first semiconductor zone; and an increase ofthe lattice constant of the pure, undoped first semiconductor zone ifthe first dopant causes a decrease, and a decrease of the latticeconstant of the pure, undoped first semiconductor zone if the firstdopant causes an increase, respectively.
 2. The semiconductorarrangement of claim 1, wherein the first semiconductor zone is arrangedon a semiconductor carrier.
 3. The semiconductor arrangement of claim 2,wherein the semiconductor carrier consists of or comprises a secondsemiconductor zone of a second conduction type which is complementary tothe first conduction type.
 4. The semiconductor arrangement of claim 2,wherein the semiconductor carrier consists of or comprises a secondsemiconductor zone of a second conduction type which is identical to thefirst conduction type.
 5. The semiconductor arrangement of claim 1,wherein the semiconductor base material is silicon (Si), silicon carbide(SiC), germanium (Ge), gallium arsenide (GaAs), indium phosphide (InP),gallium nitride (GaN), a ternary compound semiconductor, or a quaternarycompound semiconductor.
 6. The semiconductor arrangement of claim 1,wherein the first semiconductor zone is n-doped and comprises one of thefollowing combination of dopants: P and As; P and As and Sb; As and Sb;P, As and one or an arbitrary combination of C, Ge, Sn; P, As and Sb,and one or an arbitrary combination of C, Ge, Sn; As and Sb, and one oran arbitrary combination of C, Ge, Sn; P and one or an arbitrarycombination of C, Ge, Sn; As and one or an arbitrary combination of C,Ge, Sn; and Sb and one or an arbitrary combination of C, Ge, Sn.
 7. Thesemiconductor arrangement of claim 1, wherein the first semiconductorzone comprises one of the following hardening dopants or combinations ofhardening dopants: O; N; O and N.
 8. The semiconductor arrangement ofclaim 7, wherein the first semiconductor zone comprises nitrogen (N)with an average concentration of 2·10¹⁴ to 5·10¹⁵ nitrogen atoms/cm³, orof 5·10¹⁴ to 2·10¹⁵ nitrogen atoms/cm³.
 9. The semiconductor arrangementof claim 1, wherein the first semiconductor zone comprises both N and Pas dopants.
 10. The semiconductor arrangement of claim 1, wherein thefirst semiconductor zone is p-doped and comprises one of the followingcombinations of dopants: B and one or an arbitrary combination of Al,Ga, In; B and one or both of Ge, Sn; and B, one or an arbitrarycombination of Al, Ga, In, and one or both of Ge, Sn.
 11. Thesemiconductor arrangement of claim 10, wherein the first semiconductorzone comprises C.
 12. The semiconductor arrangement of claim 1, whereinthe first semiconductor zone has, in a lateral direction, a dimension ofat least 200 mm, or of at least 250 mm, or of at least 300 mm, or of atleast 450 mm.
 13. The semiconductor arrangement of claim 12, wherein thefirst semiconductor zone has, in a vertical direction which isperpendicular to the lateral direction, a thickness in the range from 50μm to 200 μm, or in the range from 60 μm to 180 μm.
 14. Thesemiconductor arrangement of claim 3, wherein the second conduction typeis p and wherein the semiconductor carrier comprises Boron (B).
 15. Thesemiconductor arrangement of claim 14, wherein the first semiconductorzone and the second semiconductor zone directly abut, thereby forming apn-junction.
 16. The semiconductor arrangement of claim 2, wherein: thefirst semiconductor zone comprises a bottom side facing thesemiconductor carrier; the first semiconductor zone comprises a top sidefacing away from the semiconductor carrier; and the first dopantcomprises, starting from the bottom side away from the semiconductorcarrier in a vertical direction that runs perpendicular to the bottomside, a concentration that gradually decreases towards the top side ofthe heavily n-doped semiconductor zone 1; or that firstly graduallyincreases and then decreases towards the top side.
 17. The semiconductorarrangement of claim 2, wherein the first semiconductor zone comprises:a bottom side facing the semiconductor carrier; a top side facing awayfrom the semiconductor carrier; a thickness; and a dopant concentrationwhich is, starting from the bottom side away from the semiconductorcarrier in a vertical direction up to a first distance from the bottomside, substantially constant and then gradually decreases towards thetop side; wherein the first distance is between 40% and 80% of thethickness of the first semiconductor zone, and wherein the dopantconcentration at the first distance is less than or equal to 50%, lessthan or equal to 30% or less than or equal to 10% of the dopantconcentration at the bottom side.
 18. The semiconductor arrangement ofclaim 17, wherein the first dopant is phosphorus (P).
 19. Thesemiconductor arrangement of claim 2, wherein: a semiconductor componentis arranged on the carrier; the semiconductor component comprises asource or collector semiconductor region, and an n-doped drain oremitter semiconductor region; and the n-doped drain region is formedfrom the first semiconductor zone.
 20. A method for producing asemiconductor arrangement, comprising: providing a semiconductor carrierof a second conduction type; epitaxially growing a first semiconductorzone of a first conduction type complementary to the second conductiontype on the semiconductor carrier, wherein: the first semiconductor zonecomprises a semiconductor base material doped with a first dopant andwith a second dopant; the first dopant and the second dopant are made ofdifferent substances; the first dopant and the second dopant are made ofsubstances which are both different from the semiconductor basematerial; the first dopant is electrically active and causes a doping ofthe first conduction type in the semiconductor base material; the firstdopant causes a decrease or an increase of a lattice constant of thepure, undoped first semiconductor zone; the second dopant causes one orboth of: a hardening of the first semiconductor zone; and an increase ofthe lattice constant of the pure, undoped first semiconductor zone ifthe first dopant causes a decrease, and, a decrease of the latticeconstant of the pure, undoped first semiconductor zone if the firstdopant causes an increase, respectively.
 21. The method as claimed inclaim 20, wherein the semiconductor carrier consists of or comprises asecond semiconductor zone of a second conduction type which iscomplementary to the first conduction type or identical to the firstconduction type.
 22. The method as claimed in claim 20, wherein thecarrier is removed from the first semiconductor zone.
 23. The method asclaimed in claim 20, wherein: the base material is silicon (Si) orsilicon carbide (SiC); and the first semiconductor zone comprises asdopants at least one of: arsenic (As); phosphorus (P); antimony (Sb);nitrogen (N); oxygen (O); and germanium (Ge).
 24. The method as claimedin claim 22, wherein, prior to the removal of the carrier, asemiconductor component is formed on the carrier, and wherein the firstsemiconductor zone or a part of the first semiconductor zone forms apart of the semiconductor component.
 25. The method as claimed in claim24, wherein the semiconductor component comprises an n-doped drain whichis formed from the first semiconductor zone.
 26. The method as claimedin claim 20, wherein: an epitaxial layer of the same conduction type asthe first semiconductor zone is grown on that side of the firstsemiconductor zone facing away from the semiconductor carrier; and afield stop zone is formed in the epitaxial layer by a diffusion ofelectrically active dopants of the first semiconductor zone into theepitaxial layer, wherein a drift zone directly abuts the field stop zoneon that side of the field stop zone facing away from the firstsemiconductor zone.
 27. The method as claimed in claim 26, wherein: thefirst semiconductor zone comprises P and As as dopants; the field stopzone comprises P and As as dopants; the drift zone comprises at least Pand optionally As as dopants; and the drift zone comprises a sectionspaced distant from the first semiconductor zone and free of As.